BEARS 75 



exposure. It was too late when at length I was 

 permitted to fire. A clinging mist shrouded 

 both ourselves and the bear and as a result we 

 overran the animal, which resumed its flight 

 in the opposite direction. It was no simple 

 matter to 'bout ship, surrounded with ice as 

 we were, and by the time we resumed the chase 

 our quarry had gained an enormous iceberg. 

 I tried several long shots without success. 

 Again and again the bear took to the water, 

 swimming beneath the surface, barely allowing 

 itself time to breathe . It clambered with wonder- 

 ful rapidity over the ice it encountered in its 

 flight. Swensen was at the wheel, andhehandled 

 the ship magnificently, avoiding the larger ice 

 masses and fending away the smaller ones. 

 Finally we drove the bear on to less broken ice 

 surrounded by the open sea. This renewed 

 our hopes, the bear having become exhausted 

 by constant diving and swimming beneath the 

 surface. This time I was sufficiently wise to 

 disregard the pleas of the photographers, and 

 when we came within range I fired and killed. 

 The bear, when brought aboard, turned out to 

 be a young female three or four years old, 

 and although not very large it had certainly 

 provided us with excellent sport. 



There are few things more difficult than to 



